COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State men’s soccer team (9-4-0, 2-1-0) will take on its fourth Top 25 opponent in 2002 when it plays host to the No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Buckeyes have won seven of their last eight games while the Hoosiers come in riding a 10-game win streak, including 11 of their last 12.

THE BROADCAST Sunday’s game will be broadcasted live by KBUX, The Ohio State University’s campus radio station. The game can be heard on the internet at www.underground.fm.

SET THE MARK Head coach John Bluem and the men’s soccer team would like to invite all fans, friends and family to attend the Sunday Oct. 20 match at home against No. 4 Indiana and set a new Big Ten attendance mark. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. The current record is 4,600 which was set by Penn State when they hosted Indiana on Sept. 30, 1994.

SCOUTING INDIANA As one of the elite programs in NCAA soccer, the Indiana Hoosiers have made five consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup, winning the national championship in 1998 and 99. Overall, the team has won five NCAA championships in 15 College Cup appearances.

In 2002, Indiana has continued its reputation as one of the nation’s best. The team has mounted an 11-1-2 record (5-0 Big Ten) and are winners of ten-consecutive matches coming into Columbus. With a powerful offense, led on by senior Pat Noonan and one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, the Hoosiers are once again a Top 5 club.

Noonan has racked up a Big Ten-best 24 points in 14 games (9 G, 6 A). Noonan also leads the Big Ten in shots and is tied with Mychal Turpin of Michigan for the conference lead in goals.

Also on the attack for the Hoosiers are fifth-year senior midfielder Ryan Mack and sophomore forward Ned Grabavoy. Mack and Grabavoy have each scored five goals on the year with Mack adding eight assists and Grabavoy adding seven. Together, the Hoosier front leads the Big Ten in shots (223), assists (34), and are second in goals (26).

The Hoosier defense, which ranks first in the Big Ten in goals per game (.64), goals allowed (9) and shutouts (7), is led by senior John Swann, and sophomores David Prall and Danny O’Rourke.

Starting every game thus far in goal for the Hoosiers has been sophomore Jay Nolly. Nolly has compiled a 11-1-2 record and a .63 goals-against-average in nearly 1,300 minutes in goal.

IU LAST TIME OUT Indiana won their tenth game in a row Wednesday night in Lexington, Ky., with a 2-1 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

Pat Noonan scored the Hoosier’s first goal in the 43rd minute off a deflection from Ryan Mack and Brian Plotkin to take a 1-0 lead.

Kentucky would tie the game in the 86th minute, but Pat Noonan would strike again just 30 seconds later for this ninth goal of the season and his third game-winner of 2002 to take the game, 2-1.

THE SERIES The Buckeyes have scored just two victories in 39 chances against the Hoosiers. Indiana defeated Ohio State in 2001, 1-0, with Hoosier Ryan Hammer scoring the game-winner just 14:47 into the contest.

In 2000, the Buckeyes also lost to the Hoosiers, 1-0, during the regular season, but defeated Indiana, 1-0, in the Big Ten tournament in Columbus in what was a monumental win for the Ohio State program. The win enabled Ohio State to advance to the tournament championship and make its first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.

IU HEAD COACH JERRY YEAGLEY In 29 seasons as head coach in Bloomington, Jerry Yeagley has led the Hoosiers to 26 NCAA tournament berths, 15 College Cups, 11 national championship games and five national championships.

He also has led Indiana squads to nine Big Ten titles and just four regular season conference losses in the 12-year history of the league.

With a career record of 523-95-40, Yeagley sits first among active coaches and second all-time in victories and is a five-time national coach of the year.

Todd Grossnickle, Jason Ryan, Justin Cook, and A.J. Weber started the game for the Buckeyes, while Tony Earp, John Tomiano, Jake Traeger, Sam Migliano and Matt McCune all saw time off the bench in the victory. Cook was credited with the assist on the game-winning goal scored by Brian Feldhaus.

Ohio State goalkeeper Chad Brown also was part of the team, but did not see action in the win.

WIN STREAK SNAPPED Ohio State’s loss at Penn State last Sunday snapped a six-game winning streak. A win over the Nittany Lions would have tied a team record for consecutive wins at seven. The Buckeyes have never won eight-consecutive games.

BLUEM HONORED John Bluem, Ohio State head men’s soccer coach, was one of six alums of Hartwick College inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Shineman Chapel on the Hartwick campus in Oneonta, N.Y.

“I am deeply honored, and humbled, by this induction to the Hartwick Athletic Hall of Fame,” Bluem said. “The education I received at Hartwick and the athletic experience that I enjoyed there has been a cornerstone of my life.”

Bluem, who was best known for his defensive play as a stopper, was a three-year starting fullback while playing for Hartwick from 1972-74. In his three seasons at Hartwick, the team compiled a 30-9-7 record, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament all three years. The 1974 team, of which Bluem was a member, reached the Final Four and finished third in the nation.

ON THE DEFENSE The Ohio State defense, which has held opponents to just 0.67 goals per game this season, has not allowed more than two goals in a game in 23-consecutive contests dating back to a 3-0 loss to Michigan State Oct. 7, 2001 in East Lansing.

The streak is the longest for the Buckeyes since 1997-98, when the team went 39 games without allowing more than two scores in a game.

OSU-OAKLAND RECAP The Buckeyes used a pair of first half goals and a stingy defense, holding Oakland to just seven shots for the match, as they took home a 3-0 win over the Golden Grizzlies Wednesday afternoon in Rochester, Mich.

Ohio State dominated the action in the first half, keeping the play in the Oakland end of the field the majority of the time. The Buckeyes saw a golden chance slip away in the opening minutes when Andy Rosenband’s (Sr., Hammond, Ind.) shot deflected off the post in the sixth minute of play. OSU kept the pressure on and was rewarded when Oakland was called for a foul in the penalty box three minutes later. Justin Cook (Jr., Winter Springs, Fla.) put the resulting penalty kick in the lower corner of the goal to give Ohio State an early 1-0 lead.

Oakland could not generate much offense against the Ohio State defense, not getting its first shot at the Buckeye goal until the 24th minute of the match. OSU, meanwhile, kept the pressure on the Oakland defense, coming through with its second goal of the match when Adam Schauer (So., Powell, Ohio) lifted a nice cross into the box that Sammy Tamporello (So., Richardson, Texas) finished off with a header into the net.

Ohio State got its final goal early in the second half when Rosenband came up with a lose ball in front of the Oakland goal, putting his shot past OU keeper Jeff Wiese.

Ohio State out shot the Golden Grizzlies 21-7 and had six corner kicks to Oakland’s two. Rosenband took seven shots to lead Ohio State, with the Buckeye’s Chad Brown (So., Rockford, Ill.) making two stops in goal to record the shutout and improve his record to 8-4 on the year.

THE BUCKEYES Senior forward Andy Rosenband is the leading goal scorer for the Buckeyes thus far in 2002. He has posted 15 points (5 G, 5 A), including three game-winners and 16 shots-on-goal.

Junior forward Justin Cook has played an important role as well, recording four assists, four goals and 10 shots-on-goal. Freshman Kevin Nugent has been a solid force up front recording three goals in his young freshman season for six points. Jason Ryan and senior captain Tony Earp also have come on of late. Ryan, Earp and Sammy Tamporello each have two goals and an assist for five points on the year. Peter Withers, A.J. Weber and Matt McCune each have tallied one goal for the Buckeyes as well.

Brown (8-4-0) has picked up his play of late in net for the Buckeyes. Brown has started 11 of the team’s 12 matches, recording 23 saves in over 1,023 minutes of play. Brown is now second in the conference in shutouts with six. Brown has shared time with red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Jason Wimmert who is 1-0 with four saves in 180 minutes of play.

BROWN RECEIVES BIG TEN HONOR Sophomore goalkeeper Chad Brown was selected as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week back on Oct. 7. Brown recorded four saves and smothered several Michigan State scoring opportunities in a 3-1 win over the Spartans Sunday Oct. 6. Brown is the third Buckeye to receive the honor this season.

Brown has allowed just two goal in his last seven outings.

“Chad has really stepped up his play of late and is becoming more and more confident with each game,” John Bluem, Ohio State head coach said. “If he continues to improve and play the way he has we are going to be a difficult team to beat. We are very pleased he is being honored for his performance.”

TOMAINO CLOSING IN ON ASSIST RECORD Senior midfielder John Tomaino needs just three assists to become OSU’s all-time assists leader. He remains one behind Mark Sotherden and two behind Brooks Humphreys and Bill Clegg.

BLUEM IN SIXTH YEAR AT OSU Now in his sixth year at the helm of Ohio State men’s soccer, John Bluem saw his Buckeyes earn their second consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament and their first ever at-large bid in 2001. Bluem also led his team to its highest ranking in program history, a No. 10 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas Men’s Division I National Poll.

Bluem’s Buckeyes jumped out of the starting blocks fast in 2002, capturing the Scarlet and Gray Classic championship with impressive wins over East Carolina and Richmond. The Buckeyes then lost its next three games by very close margins to No. 7 Loyola Marymount, Fresno State and No. 24 American. Since then Ohio State has caught fire, winning six-consecutive matches against Villanova, Bowling Green, Wisconsin, Akron, Michigan State and Louisville before falling to Penn State and defeating Oakland.

Bluem’s career record at Ohio State now sits at 61-40-11 overall and 16-14-4 in the Big Ten.

BLUEM CLOSING IN ON 150 WINS Head coach John Bluem is just three wins away from recording his 150th career win as a head coach. Bluem compiled an overall record of 86-27-12 (.736) in six years as the mentor at Fresno State. His overall career record sits at 147-67-23.

FOLLOW THE BUCKEYES ONLINE Information on the Ohio State men’s soccer team and the 35 other Buckeye sports is available online at the official website of the Ohio State Athletic Department, ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

NEXT UP The Buckeyes will take on two non-conference opponents next weekend when they play host to Alabama A&M at 7:15 p.m. Friday and Western Illinois, senior day, at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both matches are held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.